Tell Me a Story
by dorothyfellasleep
Summary: Only a few months after Jeb's odd disappearance, everyone has issues and needs some comforting - from Angel to Max. Only the right winged man can fix the leaders problems, because she has to deal with everyone else's. A series of "connected oneshots" pre-TAE. This does have a plot, and it's cute fax and family stuff. Please read and review!


"But I don't wanna go to bed," Angel whined.

"I know sweetie, but if something bad happened tomorrow, we would need our rest," Max reasoned. Angel frowned.

"But, nothing bad is going to happen, right?" she asked innocently.

Max smiled wryly. "Of course not, honey." Angel smiled, seemingly content with this and got under the covers. Max took her hand in hers and looked across the room at the silent Nudge - the _sleeping_ Nudge. Everyone had gone to bed earlier, and Max had allowed Angel to stay up and watch a movie with her, a murder mystery. Her reasoning being "if you can handle this, you can watch Chuckie."

Angel had been sick of getting treated like a baby and wanted to watch a scary movie like the rest of them. But Angel had asked Max to stop the movie a bit early, saying that she "can't like it". She was only 4, after all.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked quietly. Max smiled wide, covering up her nervousness. She didn't know how to tell a story! What should it be about? "Um, okay. Uh, alright. Once upon a time, there was a princess named Ariel, living in a castle in Alaska."

"Alaska?" Angel laughed. Max laughed too, continuing despite her silliness.

"Yes. Now, this princess was very nice, and practiced fencing every day. She beat up all the boys and told all her advisers off. The end," Max finished, feeling proud of herself and standing up, supressing the need to smile at her own creativity, Angel looked up at her with a confused expression.

"That's not how the story goes! There's supposed to be a middle! Theres no middle!"

"Now, how is that acceptable?" a voice called from the door. "Man, Max, you really suck at telling stories."

"Then you tell her one, oh mighty Fang of Words." Max rolled her eyes as Fang walked in and sat on the edge of Angel's bed. He Proceeded to tell a story about a brave princess who met a dashing young prince and then fell asleep for a long time when she pricked her finger on a spinning wheel. Then the prince made his way through thorns and found her in a tower and kissed her awake. Angel had fallen asleep by the time Fang reached the end, so he walked Max to her room.

"Just by the way, my story was way better than yours," she said.

"Oh? By what stretch of the imagination?" Fang asked. Max rolled her eyes.

"Not yours, if you have one." She sauntered off into the living room to get her blankets and pillows, thinking she was done with him.

"So-"

"Ah!" Max jumped in surprise and fell back on the couch as Fang stared at her. He'd just started a conversation...

"What...?"

"If you're going to go around jumping people, at least make some noise!"

Fang shook his head, deciding to play along. "And what would be the point in that?" He asked, looking down at her. She scowled and he resisted the urge to smile. Max stood up in a huff with her blankets, and Fang grabbed her pillows for her. He followed her into her room.

"So how about that murder mystery, eh? How'd she do?" Fang asked, helping her make the bed. Max shrugged.

"She can't like it."

Fang smiled at Angel's four year old talk. He'd never get tired of it. Max finished with the blankets and motioned for the pillows. He situated them on the bed. Max flopped down under the covers and let out a big breath.

"Tell me a story."

"Okay." Fang thought for a moment. "Alright. Once upon a time-"

"You serious right now?"

"Oh, Max. Just hear me out." Fang continued to get into character, sitting himself on the side of the bed. "Now. Once upon a time, there was a girl. She didn't have a name, but she knew that she had to find one. Setting off into the deep woods, she set off on her quest to find a name, when she came upon a skunk."

"A skunk? What is this sh-"

"Max. Be kind. You asked me to tell you a story, and you _will_ hear me out." Fang looked at Max as she rolled her eyes and set her hands across her stomach. "The skunk said, 'Hello. My name is Stinky.'" Max giggled softly at this part as Fang made fun of Gazzy good-humoredly. "Now, the nameless girl asked Stinky how he found his name, and Stinky said, 'Well, people would always call me stinky after I got back from the outhouse, and I liked it. So, I took it for my name. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.'"

Max laughed. She made the connection of how Gazzy had been the first to choose his name. "Go on, word-girl - oh, excuse me. Boy." She smiled brightly and Fang couldn't help but notice, and grin back.

"Alright. Now, down the road, the nameless girl met a Chickadee. As she approached, the Chickadee got excited and started chirping incessantly." Max laughed for she knew where this was going. "'Hello! Hello!' The Chickadee chirped. 'How are you?!' The nameless girl smiled involuntarily at the Chickadee's contagious smile. 'I'm good. I'm looking for a name. Would you mind telling me-' The Chickadee laughed and waved it's wing around. 'My name is Poke. Because my friends will always poke me if I talk too much. But I have to go. I'm having a girls night with my BFFs! Goodbye!' The Chickadee waved her wing and then flew away. The nameless girl carried on until she found a panther. It was sleek and shiny and extremely attractive, but the nameless girl didn't see any of that. She was too focused on her quest." Fang looked at Max and saw her blank expression, waiting for him to continue. He rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, she proceeded to ask the panther what his name was, and how he got it. 'Well, beautiful lady,'" Fang checked again, but there was nothing Fang said that caught Max's attention. "'My name is Molar, and I got my name for my teeth.' He showed them off and the nameless girl smiled. 'But, if you'll excuse me, I have a deer to go kill, for my wife and children at home.'" Fang watched as Max's eyebrows went down and silently partied in his head while he rejoiced.

"How could a panther marry?" Fang stopped rejoicing and silently partying in his head. He frowned.

"I don't know. That's beside the point, anyways." Fang cleared his throat and Max released the frown. "The nameless girl continued on her journey, before she met a bat. She asked the bat if he could spare a moment, and tell her his name. 'Me? Oh. My name is Secsistpigee. My friends gave me the name when they realized that all I cared about was making jokes and being the life of the party. Of course, that wasn't true. I could be extremely sensitive, but only when I needed to be. If you'll excuse me now, I must find my way home.'

"The nameless girl continued on her journey before finding a rabbit. The rabbit could not speak, so she decided to give it a name herself, a name of beauty, purity. 'I'll name you Kate, for Kate means pure.' The nameless girl watched the bunny smile and hop off, when she realized that her friends could giver her a name. She just had to find a name that suited her.

"A few days later, she saw all of the animals she'd met sitting together in a clearing. She went up to them and asked them all a question. 'If you could give me a name, what would it be?' Stinky thought of Destroyer for a name, and she would never know why such a name would occur to him. Poke thought of 'Desiree-Love-Belle' and the nameless girl ignored it completely. The panther chose a more fitting name," Fang smiled, thinking of what it might be. Max smiled too, because this was how Max had asked about her name. This was almost exactly what happened. "Dana. The nameless girl liked this name, but went on. The bat thought a while, then came up with 'Foxy-lady', to which the nameless girl would have slapped him, if indeed she weren't a fox." Fang couldn't help grin at this, and then continued with a smile. "But when it was the little Rabbits turn, she said nothing, but instead, her huge, round eyes held the answer. It was herself. She had to find her own name." Max smiled when Fang finished. No more had to be said; it was the perfect story as is.

"Thanks Fang." Max grabbed Fangs hand and squeezed. He squeezed back and she let go, yawning. "I'm so tired..." Max's eyes drifted shut and fluttered open, so Fang took this as his cue to leave.

"Good night, Max." He kissed her forehead and she was awake no more, drifting into the back of her mind where her twisted dreams awaited her. Fang turned off the light and went to his room to finally go to bed.

When Fang closed his eyes, his own twisted dreams were waiting for him. But they weren't the same type of twisted as Max's were. They were more... romantic.


End file.
